Veteran all-rounder of the golden oldies Alfred “Ace” Lekganyane remains a luminary who is well-respected.
Meet the man who is probably the oldest
active football player on the Limpopo sporting landscape.
At the age of 64, the veteran all-rounder
Alfred Lekganyane remains one of the mesmerising marshals at the nucleus of
field at Polokwane Masters, an affiliate of Polokwane Masters Football League.
By virtue of his age seniority, coupled
with experience, Lekganyane is affectionately known as “Bra Ace” and his nickname
resonates with unmatched technique, skill and robustness.
The midfield maestro, who is indispensable
to both the defense and striking line-ups, is the “Ace” of aces who has
fashioned an exciting but completely deferent style of play that leaves his opponents
always guessing and chasing shadows long after he had dribbled past.
His technique is simple without being
one-dimensional and leaves many opposition defenders flat-footed and gasping in
his wake.
“I have my own style and I am glad my
teammates complement me well” said Lekganyane.
Like an army general, Lekganyane could
bring an extremely fast-paced game to an almost complete halt at will.
With the ball in his possession, the
proceedings will be slowed down to his advantage and that of his teammates.
The crowd would go wild, yelling,
“Aaaaayce! Aaaaayce”! – a rhythmic chant thundering to the pace of his cunning,
slow-motion antics.
A calm Lekganyane explained, “It if very
pleasing to be adored by fans. It’s a morale booster.”
The magic does not end there…
He is an extremely accurate passer of the
ball, albeit how he manages this remains a mystery.
Lekganyane, a retired teacher, said he has
long perfected this exhilarating method of ballgame long time ago when he cut
his football tooth in 1973 with The Boys of Hearts at the tender age of 12.
In his colourful career, he played for
apartheid-era Bantu Calllies, (between 1974 and 1975) later to be renamed
Pretoria Callies.
Lekganyane went on to ply his trade with
Witbank Rovers when he was pursuing his studies in the then Eastern Transvaal.
Seshego Saints is among the teams he has
featured in their star-studded lineups.
In his longevity on the South African
pitches, he played alongside some of the shining football minds like Harold
“Jazzy Queen” Legodi and Harris “TV” Chueu.
In an post-match interview
with Mopani Times at the Seshego stadium’s Ground B recently, Lekganyane
said he still reminisce of their games, which he likens them to vintage jazz –
driven by improvisation.
“There were times when there was just no
formation” he recalled.
He said some of their scintillating moves
were split second, individual skill-driven cameos.
Asked how he remains on top-tip form, the
sexagenarian summed it up by saying, “I am ZCC member and the mokhukhu dance
keeps me well in shape.”
The fact of the matter is that the
pensioner is still the Ace of many hearts.